CIT Aerospace, New York, N.Y., announced the appointment of Patrick Henry Dowling to managing director and general manager of the company's Aerospace and Defense Finance division.
Gulfstream President Bryan Moss has been meeting with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and legislators on Capitol Hill to stress the importance of maintaining the FAA's aircraft certification services. The FAA earlier this year began to set priorities among its services, saying budget constraints were forcing the agency to slow certification activities. The agency is now looking at assessing fees for its certification services, a move that the General Aviation Manufacturers Assoc. (GAMA) adamantly opposes.
Associated Air Center completed an Airbus Corporate Jetliner Prestige aircraft. The aircraft is the fourth ACJ that Associated has completed but the first in the Airbus Prestige program. The Prestige interior includes 16 VIP seats, divans for 16 passengers, an aft cabin master bedroom, galley and crew rest area. The aircraft also has a state-of-the-art digital entertainment and cabin management system, moving map display, external cameras, liquid crystal screens and multi-region satellite television, wireless Internet and satellite communication voice and fax service.
NBAA, Washington, D.C., has hired association marketing veteran Connie Penne as its new vice president, Membership Marketing. Most recently, Penne served as director of member data and strategic services with AARP.
Trajen FBO Network is undertaking two major construction projects at FBO sites in Texas and Oklahoma. Trajen's Austin, TX (AUS) location has broken ground on a 36,000-square-foot hangar and office facility to bring available hangar space to over 108,000 square feet by the start of summer 2006. At Trajen-El Paso (ELP) a new 38,000-square-foot FBO Terminal/Hangar facility is designed to compliment the El Paso International Airport's enhancements, while providing amenities already implemented throughout the Network.
Air Routing Group renamed its AirFuel International unit to Air Routing Fuel. Richard Wilkens, president of the fuel unit, said the move is designed to more closely link the company with Air Routing International and reduce name confusion. Air Routing Fuel manages jet fuel procurement for 2,500 corporate aircraft worldwide as well as for a number of commercial aircraft. "Air Routing Fuel continues to grow both in association with Air Routing International and independently, both domestically and internationally," Wilkens said.
Signature Flight Support will purchase the assets of Million Air La Quinta at Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport (TRM) in Riverside County, Calif. The acquisition will mark Signature's eighth FBO purchase in the past 12 months. Bruce Van Allen, president and chief executive of BBA Aviation Services Group, the parent of Signature, said the company expects to continue to aggressively grow the FBO network.
Last summer, B&CA's nearly year-long discovery process into the workings of a small plant in Spanish Fork, Utah -- a center for excellence in composite construction in the United States -- brought dramatic results. Linden S. Blue, now vice chairman of UAV-maker General Atomics and a consummate general aviation futurist, opened the door to B&CA on an aviation project he's been pursuing for more than two decades. That project, unveiled publicly at the 2005 NBAA Convention in Orlando, is the $3.65 million Spectrum 33.
Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design, although engineers attempt to optimize the blend of capabilities, performance and passenger comfort. B&CA compares the subject aircraft, in this case the Hawker 4000, to the composite characteristics of others in its class, computing the percentage differences for various parameters in order to portray the aircraft's relative strengths and weaknesses. We also include the absolute value of each parameter, along with the relative ranking, for the subject aircraft within the composite group.
THE FORECASTS FOR PUEBLO, Colo., Memorial Airport (PUB) on Feb. 16, 2005, called for eight knot winds out of the east, visibility greater than six miles with scattered clouds at 2,000 feet and overcast 500 feet above that. The weather folks pointed out that conditions would deteriorate temporarily between 0500 and 0900 local with visibility three miles in light freezing drizzle and mist with skies overcast at 1,000 feet.
Linden Blue took the wraps off his Spectrum 33 twin-turbofan at the NBAA. CEO and chairman of Spectrum Aeronautical LLC, Blue and his son Austin own the company, based in Encinitas, Calif. The Spectrum 33 will be powered by twin 1,560-pounds-thrust Williams International FJ-33-4 engines. Intended for single-pilot operation, the aircraft will seat two in the cockpit and five to six passengers in the main cabin, which will include a full-width, fully enclosed aft lavatory. First flight of the prototype is scheduled for mid-January 2006.
Four Jet Aviation facilities (Bedford/Boston, Dallas, Palm Beach and Teterboro) have been awarded the 2004 FAA Diamond Award for their aircraft maintenance technicians and repair stations. Jet Aviation Teterboro has also received the Maintenance Department of the Year award for 2004 from the Teterboro PAMA chapter .
Fractional provider Avantair placed an order for 36 Piaggio Avanti IIs during the NBAA show, which when delivered over the next three years, will increase the company's fleet to 57 Avantis. The $230 million order was the largest ever received by Piaggio. In addition, Avantair's new majority owner, Alfred Rapetti, said Avantair will move its corporate headquarters from New Jersey to St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., by the middle of 2006 and that the company will grow to more than 100 employees.
CIT Aerospace and Defense Finance (New York) -- Patrick Dowling has been appointed managing director and general manager of this company, which offers aircraft financing.
Chris L. Parker, International Contract Captain (Bombardier Challenger, Los Angeles)
I thoroughly enjoyed Ross Detwiler's "From Buenas Noches to Manana" (November, page 63). I'm curious if anyone else has noticed that his first name might just be an acronym for "Retired Officer, Superb Storyteller."
During her annual "State of the FAA" speech to employees, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey told them that the agency achieved 28 of the 31 goals it set for itself in FY2005, including saving nearly $100 million though a cost-control program. The agency met its target of accomplishing at least 90 percent of the goals in the annual Flight Plan, Blakey said, which means employees will receive 100 percent of an incentive payment that is linked to the Flight Plan goals.
In the third quarter of 2005, Embraer the recorded net sales of US$1,064.3 million and net income of US$110.2 million, equivalent to diluted earnings per ADS of US$0.6280. At the end of the quarter, Embraer's firm order backlog totaled US$10.4 billion, which the company believes is a strong indicator of their commitment to long-term growth and customer diversification. In the current quarter, the company generated positive net cash provided by operating activities of US$379 million, a reflection of lower inventory and accounts receivable levels.
Hill Aircraft founded by Guy Hill, Sr. in 1955, celebrated its 50th anniversary at Atlanta's Fulton County Brown Field (FTY) facility on Oct. 13, with over 450 invited guests. The event was held in Hill Aircraft's newly renovated facility to celebrate the man, the company and its history. On the ramp side of the building were a 1952 Cessna 195, a 2005 Cessna 172, 182, Grand Caravan and a 2005 Cessna Sovereign. Numerous vintage aircraft and vehicles including a T-6, a 1955 Cessna 180 and a 1955 Ford.
At a separate event, on the same day as Blakey's speech, National Air Traffic Controllers Association head John Carr presented his own list of FAA shortcomings. Carr faulted the agency for moving too slowly on ATC modernization and for damaging labor relations, particularly during contentious contract negotiations. He singled out runway incursion technology as an area where the agency has not acted fast enough.
Aircraft Technical Publishers was selected by Piaggio America to manage technical publications related to its Avanti aircraft. The agreement covers all technical libraries, distribution and customer service worldwide for the Avanti.
The stereotype, however unfounded, came easily to mind: an amalgam of a horse trader, fighter jock and Red Skelton's San Fernando Red wearing a serious suit. The used airplane broker.
Whether you own a FAR Part 135 operation with a single King Air 200 or are a global enterprise operating a fleet of Gulfstreams, you have the compound responsibility of keeping your aircraft safe and airworthy while overseeing your maintenance budget wisely. To manage your aircraft and your money well, provide your maintenance technicians with the procedures, tools and the time they need. As an aircraft mechanic I am proud of my work ethic and having acquired the experience that enables me to do my job right. I've no doubt your people feel the same.
Officials of Spirit Wing Aviation, developers of the Williams International FJ44-2C-powered Learjet 25, said they now anticipate receiving FAA certification of their SpiritLear by midsummer 2006.
Marked by a series of loud reports and showers of sparks that momentarily unnerved exhibitors in adjacent booths Embraer unveiled full scale mockups of its newly named Phenom 100 very light jet and Phenom 300 light jet at the NBAA convention in Orlando. Although featuring identical cabin cross-sections and Garmin 1000 integrated cockpits layouts, the two aircraft will have little structural commonality.
